Over the next seven weeks, I’m serialising my fantasy novella Bloodmire on Substack. It had previously been serialised on Medium, but this version has a revised ending exclusive to Substack. This is also the ending I prefer, on balance. I don’t generally revise the finales of my stories, but in this specific case, felt I had missed a trick concerning the fate of a particular supporting character. This has now been tweaked.
Bloodmire concerns a Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself. But this is no straightforward tale of a damsel in distress. Nor is the knight perhaps as noble as you might initially believe.
Curious? Why not check it out on Substack, over the next seven weeks (click here for part one). You’ll need to subscribe to me there, but for a mere $5 per month, you get access to multiple short stories and novellas, plus almost every article I publish on Medium is republished there too. On top of that, you get full access to my film review archive. In short, it is great value for money!
Bloodmire is also intended as a companion piece to my recently released novel Ravenseed and features one of the supporting characters. However, I stress Bloodmire requires no prior knowledge of Ravenseed. It stands entirely alone.
Incidentally, you can pick up Ravenseed from Amazon on Kindle or paperback here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Downloads or paperbacks are also available from Draft2Digital, Smashwords, and associated outlets here.
Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination.
Dystopian Sci-Fi/Thriller. A journalist investigates a tech company manufacturing nightmare suppressing nanotech for children. “Sweet Dreams” refers to the technology involved, which the journalist comes to believe may be linked to an increase in suicidal tendencies among young people. Her investigations uncover conspiracies, cover-ups, and eventually murder.
Fantasy. A Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself.
Horror/Sci-Fi. The near future. No one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids. A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.
The former also features two short stories, Influencer and White Horse, exclusive to that volume. Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
The latter features exclusive stories The Thought Improvement Programme, Driverless, Bleed with Me, The Traffic Warden, Apocalypse 1983, and Love and Other Punishments (as well as Sweet Dreams, which can be read on Medium). Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
Papercut and Once in a Lifetime were originally traditionally published by Dragon Soul Press for their First Love and All Dark Places anthologies respectively. These collections are now out of print, though copies can be obtained via sellers. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.
Herewith an update on where you can read my currently available short stories and novellas. Most are online in Medium publications such as Fictions and Illumination, but I am also gradually releasing many of my short stories on new fiction specialising platform Simily. Here’s a link to my profile on that site.
Fantasy. A Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself.
Science Fiction/Horror. The near future. No one knows where the giant spider nests came from, but nations are adjusting to the challenge of living alongside dangerous oversized arachnids. A mercenary desperate for money to purchase medical treatments that can save his wife is hired by an influential businessman. His objective: Infiltrate a spider nest on a mission of vengeance.
Dystopian Science Fiction/Romance. In a fascistic future London, a widowed salesman begins to suspect he has repressed memories when he encounters a mysterious woman.
A curious IT technician discovers the truth about traffic wardens in this surreal, sinister, rather silly conspiracy thriller.
The only short stories of mine currently available in paperback/e-book are those selected for Infestation: A Horror Anthology, which also features two short stories exclusive to that volume. Copies can be ordered here (in the UK) and here (in the US). Digital versions are also available from Smashwords here, as well as the various outlets to which they distribute (Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo, for instance).
Papercut and Once in a Lifetime were originally traditionally published by Dragon Soul Press for their First Love and All Dark Places anthologies respectively. These collections are now out of print, though copies can be obtained via sellers. Papercut is also available to read in both short story and adapted screenplay form on this blog, here.
Medium allow three free reads per month for non-subscribers, so for unrestricted access to my work and the work of every other writer on that site (including the many other articles I write, in addition to my fiction pieces), I’d recommend becoming a Medium subscriber for $4.99 per month. This will also give you the ability to write and publish your own articles, and make money doing so, should you wish to go that route. I benefit financially if you use this link to become a Medium subscriber, so if you wish to support my work, subscribing that way is a huge help.
Over the past seven weeks, the wonderful people at Medium publication Fictions serialised my fantasy novella Bloodmire. The plot concerns a Dark Ages knight undertaking a quest to rescue the young woman to whom he is betrothed. She has been captured by a mysterious Beast and taken into a mysterious and dangerous uncharted forest. On his quest, the knight encounters bandits, witches, and strange supernatural beings, journeying ever deeper into the forest, and ever deeper into himself.
Sounds trope-tastic? I can assure you Bloodmire is not a straightforward tale of damsels in distress. In fact, it’s a narrative designed to invite different interpretations and perspectives. Inspiration wise, it draws on everything from Arthurian legend (particularly Sir Gawain) to Heart of Darkness. It is also intended as a companion piece to my upcoming novel Ravenseed and features one of the supporting characters. However, I stress Bloodmire requires no prior knowledge of Ravenseed. It stands entirely alone.
I’ve had some terrific response and comments so far, so do check it out. Part One of Bloodmire can be found here, with links to subsequent parts at the end of every instalment. I hope you enjoy it.
Simon Dillon Books 
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